


Dawn

by hereforthewomen



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Downton Abbey is almost a character itself, F/M, Fluff, I don't read fluff, I'm a Mary/Matthew stan, Sappy, THE SAP, but it looks like I write it, but..., hence, on this rewatch Mary/Henry stole my heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:08:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29160171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hereforthewomen/pseuds/hereforthewomen
Summary: Set after the conclusion of the film.The morning after the Harewood ball Mary and Henry watch the sun rise above Downton and ponder their future.
Relationships: Mary Crawley/Henry Talbot
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Dawn

It’s so late it’s somehow become dawn, and she’s so bone-tired from the last few days that feels she could almost drop where she stands. However, as Henry pulls the car into the drive and she sees the spires of the Abbey rise up before her, she’s overcome by a desire to not stop yet, to take the chance to survey what Tom has taken to calling her ‘kingdom’.

When they reach the house, she takes Henry’s hand and leads him down the lawn towards the jackdaws castle, its columns glinting in the first rays of sunlight.

Her husband, now she suspects growing used to her whims, is silent as they head across the pristine lawns, keeping any thoughts he may have about their early morning detour to himself until they settle with their backs to one of the columns.

“Mary, darling, what are we doing out here? You must be exhausted”

She smiles up at him “I am, I think it’s quite possible that I’ve never been so tired”.

“That’s what I hear. No fewer than three members of your family told me in no uncertain terms to make sure you rest.”

Here she watches him consider his next words carefully before continuing.

“Of course, why they think you’d listen to me, I don’t know. We both know who calls the shots in this marriage, and it’s rarely me.”

Even though the deep fatigue she’s feeling, this makes her happy. It’s a reminder of the fact that even though he’s been away for so long, he still understands her. 

“I listen to you sometimes, we’re married, aren’t we?”

“So we are, though I don’t think I had much to do with that decision”.

She smirks. “Perhaps not. But you’re right, I am tired. And I will rest. The visit has been so very draining. I would not want to go through it again.”

At this, a less than charitable thought comes into her mind.

“With any luck next time they’ll decide to stay at Brancaster, and I can watch Edith running around managing the whole thing” she says, inserting a little of her usual bravado into her voice.

Henry smirks down at her, before replying lightly “Mary…. Don’t be nasty. I thought you and Edith were getting on rather well earlier.”

This is true, so she decides to throw him a bone.

“We have been, and I don’t mean to be nasty.”

Here she pauses, torn between admitting the truth and keeping up the façade. It’s a façade she knows Henry sees through, but it amuses her, nonetheless. In the end, honesty wins out.

“It pains me to say it, but Edith makes an excellent Marchioness. However, I don’t think she could have run things quite as well.”

“Perhaps not” Henry says, as he puts his arm around her and pulls her close.

They sit there in companionable silence for several minutes, content to merely watch the spectacular sight that is a sunrise over Downton, a sight Mary hasn’t seen often enough in recent months.

Eventually, Henry is the one to break the silence with a question.

“Mary, what did you mean by asking if I’d ever want to live somewhere other than Downton? When we first met for dinner you told me that you were determined to keep things going for George, that you wanted him to inherit a modern establishment. Has that changed?”

Mary sights, she’d been wondering when he was going to broach the subject.

“No, that’s still what keeps me going. I don’t want him to face what Papa and I have, praying for a miracle to bring us money or worrying about the roof every time it rains. I did my duty and produced an heir, so the title is safe, but I want to ensure that Downton is still here to match it.”

“Well then.”

“It’s not that I no longer believe in Downton, Granny more than persuaded me out of any doubts I may have had. It’s just… sometimes I wonder if I’m capable of keeping the show on the road.

“It’s been such a struggle, first with Carson retiring, then Tom spending his time at the garage, Papa not to be worried by anything and you away in America.’

“Mary, I’m..”

Here she cuts him off, knowing he’s going to try to apologise for his necessary absence

“No, don’t apologise, you had to go” she says, watching relief spread across his face as she speaks

“And in some ways the royal visit has been a blessing, it’s shown me just how much we’ve changed since I was a girl, we’re almost modern by comparison! But it has also shown me how far we have to go, how much we still have to do.”

Henry smiles at her. “Darling, we both know you’re more than strong enough”

“I know! I don’t worry about a lack of strength or resolve. But sometimes…”

“What?”

“Sometimes I wonder if I’m capable of enough change. Granny says I’m the best of her, and I take that as a compliment. But at the same time, she had to be almost dragged into the twentieth century, and I don’t want to become that.”

Henry sighs, and places his arm around her waist

“Well, if that’s what you’re worried about, I think you’ve worried for nothing”

“Oh? Why pray?”

“Look at you. Look at what you’ve become. A modern twentieth-century working woman, married to a man without a title who owns a garage. Did you ever think this is where you’d end up?”

“No, you know only too well I did not. In fact, I spent the first twenty years of my life convinced I’d be a duchess, or at the very least a countess like Mama”. 

“There, you see.”

She smiles at him.

“You make it sound very simple”.

“That’s because, to me it is. I knew when I took you on that you and Downton were a package deal. And for the same reason I know you’re capable of making the changes to come.”

She watches him survey the landscape in front of them before he says “It’s part of you.”

She nods, reassured as she always is that he understands her completely. “It is. And I am part of it, so long as there’s blood in my veins as Granny would say.”

“And that’s why I know you’ll make a success of it. Besides, you’re far too stubborn to back down now”

Amused but loathe to show it, she pushes him away playfully, unable to keep a grin from stealing onto her face.

At this, he stands up and takes her hand

“And you know, you’ll always have help. From Tom, from your parents, someday from George. And of course, always from me my darling”

“Always?” She asks, “Is that a promise?”

She gazes at him, waiting for his answer, but knowing what it will be. And sure enough, as he starts to lead her towards the house and their waiting bed, it comes.

“Always.”


End file.
